So this is going to be a quick post too. But I realized something very important yesterday while talking to my a friend about my experience for the last two weeks’ of gluten free experimentation: I’m not in pain.

I’ve been dealing with chronic arthritis-like pain for the last four years or so, almost exclusively in my knees. You wouldn’t think that someone in their late twenties to early thirties would have this issue, but my sister’s joints started experiencing major issues in her late teens, and my dad has always had bad knees (he blamed high school football but now we’re not so sure). I just figured it was my lot in life. I started using Glucosamine (and it really has helped). I did a lot of stretching and some soaking in epsom salts, and talked to the doctor. Nothing really stopped the pain.

Yesterday I was sitting with my friends at lunch. I was talking about how I had been realizing I was feeling more awake (even when I’ve gotten less sleep), less bloated, and overall better. And I realized suddenly that I was sitting cross-legged, perched on the chair, my legs to either side of me. And even after walking from my office in heels, I didn’t have a single bit of pain or inflammation.

This is definitely not something I can attribute to good/bad days – it’s been pretty consistently bad for years. This is gluten. And my body’s reaction to it. I’m certain now that this is the right path for me to go down, since it’s obvious that I’ve been reacting poorly to it. Now I’m mad at myself for not cutting it out sooner!